Denial of civil rights is appalling

Published 6:23 pm, Wednesday, April 3, 2013

I am completely in agreement with the sentiment expressed in the March 31 editorial discussing the Supreme Court taking up the issue of gay marriage, or as you described it in the editorial "marriage equality." I was a little surprised at the visceral, negative reaction to the term from a Greenwich resident in a subsequent letter to the editor (April 2).

While I am expecting little from the Supreme Court in the way of "settling" the issue (they just do not seem to be ready) I do think that the nation is ahead of the court. And, I do hope to see the Defense of Marriage Act signed by President Clinton struck down, at least leaving the issue to the states, and granting equal rights under federal law for couples legally married in one of the more "enlightened" states. (Yes, it is an aggravation to have to leave your home state to be legally married, but destination weddings are all the rage.)

I fully understand that from a religious viewpoint many people oppose gay marriage. And, I am indifferent as whether the Catholic Church (or any other church) ever decides to perform or recognize marriages between same-sex couples. But, the United States of America is not a theocracy. In America we not only have freedom of religion, but freedom from religion as well.

Marriage in America is a civil institution. Any two consenting adults should be able to go before a justice of the peace (the representative of civil institutions) and get married and have that marriage recognized by every other civil authority in the country, whether federal, state or local. I would be horrified if the government, either federal or state, were to tell any religious institution who they could or could not marry. (Governments used to tell churches that they could not marry people of different races.) But, I am equally appalled that in a civil society, which is not governed by religion, our federal government has decided that a civil right can be denied to some of its citizens. Denying civil rights to the enslaved portion of the American populace was wrong. Denying women the right to vote was wrong. Denying the right of interracial couples to marry was wrong. Denying same-sex couples the civil benefits of marriage is wrong. And, telling any group to "wait" for equal rights is wrong.

Jan Rogers Kniffen

Greenwich

New gun laws won't work

To the editor:

The state Legislature is poised to pass some of the strictest gun laws in the books; yet, they will not be able to stop another mass shooting. Can any of the geniuses in the Legislature please tell me how these laws are going to stop a mentally disturbed, homicidal person with the intent of killing people from doing so?

Do you think banning magazines over 10 rounds will actually work? What is the difference between one 30-round magazine and three 10-round magazines? The answer is about a second.

This feel-good legislation is just that; it will not stop anyone from committing a mass shooting. Ignorance has prevailed once again in the Connecticut Legislature and once again they have violated their oath of office and our constitutional rights. No longer do our politicians believe in our constitutional rights. Instead they believe they have the right to crush them all in the name of false security.